U.S. Park Police Chief Stepping Down

WASHINGTON — The chief of the United States Park Police said Thursday that she plans to retire next month after more than three decades in law enforcement.

Teresa Chambers plans to step aside on Dec. 5 — her 35th anniversary as a sworn police officer. In 2011, she was reinstated as chief after years earlier being fired for public comments about lack of staffing and funding.

She said in a statement that it was time to pursue new opportunities. No successor was immediately named.

“It was important that I leave on my terms and at a time of my choosing,” Chambers said.

Chambers, a former Prince George’s County police officer and former police chief in Durham, N.C., was tapped to run the Park Police in 2002, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Park Police officers are responsible for protecting some major American landmarks, including the National Mall in Washington, and operate in New York and San Francisco.

She was stripped of her police powers a year after her hiring, and later officially dismissed, after complaining publicly to reporters that her department was understaffed and underfunded. She said the agency had been forced to cut back on patrols so officers could guard national monuments and that the department had a $12 million budget shortfall.

Chambers argued that she was dismissed in retaliation for exposing staffing and security problems and claimed protection under the federal Whistleblower Protection Act. The U.S. Interior Department said she was fired for insubordination and failing to follow the chain of command. After a legal fight that spanned years, the Merit Systems Protection Board ordered Chambers reinstated and directed the Interior Department to pay her back pay, interest and other benefits.

“The stand Chief Chambers took has helped others sound the alarm to better protect the public,” Paula Dinerstein, the senior counsel for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility who led Chambers’ legal team, said in a statement.

The agency has about 600 officers and, in recent years, was responsible for Occupy protesters who camped out for months on federal park land and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and also responded to a mass shooting in September at the Washington Navy Yard.

The agency was sharply criticized in a recent government watchdog report that accused it of failing to keep diligent track of its weapon supply. Chambers appeared before Congress several months ago to outline improvements being made.